Some persons seem to believe that cheese or fish or other food is the ideal food for some particular circumstance and that there is a special food or diet suited to each kind of work and to every circumstance of our daily life, and that it would be a great advantage if we could regulate our daily fare with the accuracy a chemist uses in making an experiment. Work, recreation, the amount of clothing we wear, and other details of our daily life are not so regulated, and it is the belief of those who have studied the subject that the best interests of persons living under normal conditions are served if the ideal be rather the regulation of the diet along general lines in accordance with good sense, the teachings of experience, economy, and the available knowledge gained from a scientific study of the subject, due care being taken that the different staple foodstuffs are so combined that all the needs of the body are provided, excessive waste is prevented, and that both undernourishment and excess or overeating are avoided. Dishes which are liked and the methods followed in preparing them will vary in different countries and at different times, yet this does not of necessity mean that the nutritive value of the diet varies correspondingly. In the same way it is possible for us to vary the selection of our foods and the character of our diet at will, according to the demands of our taste and our purse, without correspondingly changing its value for supplying the needs of the body. This means that the housekeeper, in suitable ways, can use cheese, meat, fish, eggs, and other foods of similar composition as substitutes for one another, being governed by their relative market value at different times and seasons, by the tastes of her family, and similar considerations. If she uses the different foodstuffs with reference to their nutritive value and is skillful in preparing foods in appetizing ways and in serving them in attractive combinations, the daily fare may be both adequate and pleasing, whether she selects cheese or meat or fish or eggs or other foods to supply nitrogenous material and fat. Here, as in all that pertains to housekeeping, true economy is dependent upon a knowledge of materials and skill in using them. Transcriber’s Notes pg 8 Removed repeated word the from: If cream is removed the the cheese pg 12 Changed brought about chiefly by the action of enzyms to: enzymes pg 15 Changed 90 per cent of the nitrogeous to: nitrogenous pg 20 Changed the curd assumes a custardlike to: custard-like pg 24 Added period after No in: Cheese Fondue No 1. pg 24 Added period after: 1 tablespoonful of butter pg 25 Changed Corn and Cheese Souffle. to: Soufflé. pg 31 Added period after: Salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg